1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a grip of hand-held articles, more particularly, to a grip for fitting over a handlebar of cycles or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Grips are commonly designed to fit on the gripping section of the hand-held articles for increasing comfort or shock absorption during gripping of the hand-held articles. Prior art grips usually have a unitary underlying support structure sufficiently rigid to retain the shape of the grip. A problem with these grips is that they could not adhere sufficiently to the gripping section of the hand-held articles, thus allowing relative slippage between the grip and the gripping section of the hand-held articles.
In an attempt to eliminate the problem of relative slippage between the grip and the gripping section, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,735 has disclosed an improved two piece grip which can be securely attached to a bearing surface, such as a handlebar. The grip utilizes a two piece construction which comprises a pliable inner sleeve and a rigid outer housing. The rigid cylindrical outer housing is adapted to be coupled to the exterior periphery of the inner sleeve such that the outer housing applies a gripping force to the inner sleeve, and the inner sleeve applies a holding force to the handlebar, or other bearing surface, to prevent the grip from rotating on the handlebar. In other words, such a grip can substantially reduce relative slippage between the grip and the handlebar.
A problem with the grip mentioned above is that the inner sleeve thereof is so pliable or soft that it has a high coefficient of friction. The result is that the inner sleeve may stick to itself and wrinkle during insertion, further impeding insertion over the hand-held article. A further disadvantage of the prior art grip is that it is difficult to reside the supports of the outer housing in the spaces between the protrusions of the inner sleeve, when the outer housing is coupled to the inner sleeve.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved grip that can eliminate the relative slippage between the grip and the gripping section but that also can avoid all of the just discussed shortcomings of prior art grips.